I usually don’t blog about things that have absolutely nothing to do with any Chicago basketball team, but I just had to comment on this. A few articles popped up today about how Marion Jones is trying to make a comeback…to the WNBA. Check out these articles…

** Marion Jones Attempting Comeback as a Pro Basketball Player (from FanHouse.com)

In a church gymnasium built in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood by former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, Marion Jones, the most famous women’s track athlete turned the most infamous, told FanHouse and the New York Times on Monday that she is going to attempt an athletic comeback as a professional basketball player.

“I missed competitiveness,” Jones, now 34, told me after I watched her at the Antioch Baptist Church go through one of her thrice-a-week three-hour basketball workouts. “I missed the challenges of participating in sports.”

“There isn’t a day I don’t reflect on some of the bad choices I made,” Jones said, her blue T-shirt soaked with sweat from individual drills and one-on-one, two-on-two and three-on-three games she’d just gone through. “But I’m not going to crawl up in a corner.”

** Marion Jones Aims for a Comeback, in Basketball (from NY Times)

“Back in May, when I got a call from someone in the NBA asking if I would possibly be interested in the WNBA,” she said. At the time, she was eight months pregnant with her third child. “My reaction was ‘Yeah, right.’ I got off the phone, I thought about it a little bit, talked with my husband. I thought it would be an interesting journey if I decided to do this,” she added. “It would give me an opportunity to share my message to young people on a bigger platform; it would give me an opportunity to get a second chance.I think I can be an asset to a franchise, so it comes down to ’Why Not?’ Really. Why not?”

The thought of Marion Jones playing in the WNBA put a HUUUUGE smile on my face. Marion Jones is the first female athlete that I ever really looked up to and admired. To be honest, as a young child growing up I wasn’t a fan of any female athletes. Women’s sports did not interest me at all. Micheal Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan and Pete Sampras (…did I mention Michael Jordan?) were the athletes that took up all the space on my walls and consumed all of my time and fandom. Da Bears. Da Bulls. Da Cubbies. Those were my teams.

When I got a little older (teenage years), sure, I was a big Tamika Catchings fan but that had more to do with the fact that she was a local celebrity (she attended my high school about 3 years before me) than it had to do with me actually caring about the sport. I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in women’s basketball at the time. Also, female ballers got no respect so it wasn’t exactly “cool” to be a fan (…hey, I was a teenager — those things were important back then!).

Mia Hamm was big around that time, but soccer is a sport that I never cared for. Hamm inspired a lot of young girls but she never inspired me and I never really paid attention to her career (…except when she made that commercial with Michael Jordan).

Anna Kournikova was all the rage at this time too. I clearly remember her being the punchline of every joke and a walking/talking example of why women’s sports were lame. You’re mediocre at your craft but you get 98% of the attention because you’re a pretty blonde? Really!?! To this day, I still absolutely despise women’s tennis…

Track & field wasn’t a sport that I necessarily loved, but I grew up watching a lot of it because my parents really loved it. Carl Lewis, Flo Jo, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Michael Johnson were all athletes that I grew up hearing about.

Then came Marion Jones — a strong black female athlete with mainstream appeal. She was rich, famous and, most importantly, talented. She had big endorsement deals and was in mainstream commercials. She kicked butt in her sport and the nation loved her. It didn’t hurt that she was also a (former) baller . Marion Jones was the first “cool” (black) female athlete that I can remember.  I wasn’t a huge track fan and I didn’t run track in school, but rest assured, I wanted to be Marion Jones when I ‘grew up.’

Obviously, since then she’s taken quite the fall from grace — admitting to steroids use, lying to the Feds, serving jail time etc., etc., etc. But you know what? I don’t care about any of that. I really don’t. I don’t think about or pay any attention to any of that stuff. I just remember how watching Marion Jones made me feel. I was a teenager and she made me feel good about being a black female athlete. I’ll never, ever forget that.

With regards to her attempting a return to basketball…if it ends up being just a lame publicity stunt (a la Nancy Leiberman in 2008), then forget it. But if Marion Jones can legitimately hoop it up with the best-of-the-best then I would absolutely LOVE to see her in the WNBA. I’m sure she would instantly become my second favorite player in the league (…second only to Candice Dupree, of course) and I would be absolutely ecstatic to have the opportunity to see her play ball.

In the NY Times article linked above, Jones says that she’s going to try and play basketball in Europe this winter before attempting to play in the WNBA in the summer of 2010. That sounds like a good idea. That way she’ll be able to (a) hone her skills some more and (b) gauge her skills against high-level competition to see where she stands. Can’t wait to see what European team she’s going to sign with!

The one thing that makes me a little nervous about this comeback is this line from the NY Times article…

Since her release from prison Jones said she has spoken to students acros the country of all ages about making good choices. Director John Singleton is making a documentary of her life for ESPN.

A documentary for ESPN? Is that what this is all about? …scripting a really nice ending to this documentary? I can see it now — the concept will be “Marion Jones comes full-circle”, right? I hope this is not the motive, but it does seem a little shady. I love Marion Jones but I don’t want the WNBA to embarrass itself (again) by becoming someone’s pawn in another lame publicity stunt.

With that said, regardless as to how this turns out, it really made me happy to hear Marion Jones’ name associated with the WNBA today. It brought back really good memories and put a smile on my face. I can definitely understand the point-of-view of people that don’t like her and don’t want her anywhere near the league because of what she’s done in the past. I’m guessing that if anything really comes of this story, a lot of WNBA fans will start drinking the haterade and climbing up on that high-horse…but whatever. Personally, I’m hoping beyond hope that Jones still has mad game and will be hoopin’ it up with the rest of the WNBA ladies this summer …if not, it’s great to know that she tried and that she still has love for the greatest sport in the world (basketball, not track!).

Convicted felon and former world record holding track star Tim Montgomery on Friday talked about why he started using steroids, as well as his life with former Olympic champion Marion Jones.

Tim Montgomery says he started taking performance-enhancing drugs because he wanted to beat American sprint rival Maurice Greene and become the fastest man in the world.

He states that Maurice Greene really …”got in to my head”…and he became obsessed with defeating him for the title.

Montgomery, the former world 100m record holder, has served 18 months of his sentence for dealing heroin and handling counterfeit cheques, crimes he was convicted of after being banned from athletics for doping in 2005.

“I destroyed myself,” Montgomery acknowledges in an interview with The Times, conducted in the Alabama prison where he spends his days earning 12 cents an hour sweeping leaves. “I’ve been trying to be a man all my life and now I’m in here treated like a kid.”

Montgomery admits he never had any second thoughts about crossing the line that separates clean athletes from drugs cheats like himself and his former partner, Marion Jones.

Montgomery admits he never had any second thoughts about crossing the line that separates clean athletes from drugs cheats like himself and his former partner, Marion Jones.

“I’m not going to sugar-coat it, there wasn’t even a second thought that I was cheating,” he said. “It was all about getting one over the system and if I could, I would.

“That was what I learnt on the streets. But I tell you, if I’m cold, Marion’s even colder. Marion didn’t care about anything.”

On January 11, 2008, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas sentenced Marion  Jones to six months in prison and 200 hours of community service for perjury relating to her using of steroids and for a check-fraud scam.

She has since that time been unapologetic to her relay team members who had to return their medals because of Jones’ cheating, and she has continued to lie on many national TV programs most notably the Oprah Winfrey show.She always comes off as very self-centered, and she appears to be willing to say anything given the chance to weasel out of taking full responsiblity for taking illegal substances to cheat her way into a championship title, that she did not ever deserve.

She was also sentenced to two years probation following her prison term. Jones reported to the Federal Medical Center-Carswell prison facility in Fort Worth, Texas on March 7, 2008 and was assigned prisoner no. 84868/054. She was released from prison on September 5, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Jones

Tim Montgomery insists he never thought of the consequences of his actions.

“Maurice got in my head real bad,” Montgomery, who used to keep steroids in the fridge, told the AP. “I wanted everything that he had.

“I would give anything to be the world’s fastest, Montgomery declared.

He did do something, and that was to leave his long time coach Steve Riddick and joined doping-tainted coach Trevor Graham. “I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.”

Montgomery criticizes Greene for “clowning the other athletes.” And it was after the 1999 world championships in Seville, Spain, that Montgomery decided do something.

Montgomery never tested positive for drugs, but he was linked to the BALCO doping investigation and has admitted that he doped before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He retired after the ban was imposed in 2005.

Montgomery said he and Jones became an item in 2002 after spending several hours talking on a flight to Rome.

“Two hours later we were alone in a hotel room together. Two weeks after that we were crowned the world’s fastest couple. And six months after that she was pregnant,” said Montgomery, who added that Jones could make herself cry for the cameras.

“Her best work was when she passed a lie detector test.”

American athlete Marion Jones tested negative more than 150 times before her courtroom confession that she had taken a cocktail of drugs before the Sydney Olympics.

“It is still easy to circumvent the anti-doping policies and procedures in place today not only in professional sport but Olympic sport,” a doping agency official says.

The issue of drug-test evasion has been partly addressed by the introduction this year of tough new rules requiring athletes to provide constantly updated information about their whereabouts, despite protests from some that they infringe civil liberties.

The Balco scandal that Montgomery and Jones participated in, has also opened up a new front against the cheats by showing the value of investigative techniques to complement old-fashioned testing, with evidence gathered by federal officers being used to prove drug violations by athletes such as Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.

The World Anti-Doping Agency,WADA, is celebrating its 10th year in existence , and are the agency credited with outing cheaters like Tim and Marion.

The American law enforcement agencies have agreed to work in partnership with the WADA and are primed to pass on any relevant information.

Such co-operation between sport and government would have been unthinkable before 1999 and is perhaps the greatest achievement of WADA’s first decade.

Doping is no longer just a sport problem. Now everyone is in it together.

On May 1, 2008, an indictment was unsealed that accused the 33-year-old sprinter of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin in the Virginia Beach area over the past year, according to The Virginian Pilot, the daily newspaper in Virginia Beach, Va. Montgomery told the newspaper he knew nothing of the accusations and that his arrest was a “total surprise.”

In October of that year, Montgomery was found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail.

Source…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Montgomery

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifH4_O8wmBW00fomXuFqoznPNjvgD9C7S1980

This post is to highlight my 5 most favorite African-American female runners. They are inspirational to me and others and often times are forgotten when they are no longer beating world records and taking home the gold.

Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a world-class Kenyan marathon runner. She won the Boston Marathon four times and silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. Ndereba has been described  as the “greatest women’s marathoner” of all time by a Chicago Tribune Sportswriter.

Wilma Glodean Rudolph was the first African-American woman to receive three gold medals in track and field during a single olympic games. She also was the first African-American woman to receive the Sullivan Award, which is the highest award in US armature sports. This powerful sprinter was so extraordinary that she earned three nicknames: from the Rome Olympics she was “The Tornado”, the fastest woman on earth.  The Italians nicknamed her “La Gazzella Nera” (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was “La Perle Noire” (The Black Pearl).http://www.wilmarudolph.net/

Jacqueline “Jackie” Joyner-Kersee  is ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women’s heptathlon as well as in the women’s long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze olympic medals. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century.  Nicknamed “Super Woman”, she was featured on the cover of the first issue of Sports Illustrated Magazine for Women.http://www.jackiejoyner-kerseefoundation.org/

Dr. Lillian Green-Chamberlain, Ph.D is an African-American, female, former track and field three-time All-American, US National and Pan American Games Champion and record holder.  Dr. Green-Chamberlain served as the first Director of the Physical Education and Sports Program for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  She currently serves as an active member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

 Florence Griffith-Joyner “Flo jo”  became a popular figure in international track and field due to her record-setting performances and flashy personal style. She holds the world records in the 100 meters and 200 meters races. She left the athletic world abruptly due to a premature death. http://www.florencegriffithjoyner.com/

  I am going to throw Marion in here because I enjoy her also despite the tribulations. Lessons learned! 

Marion Jones is an African-American female winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won both the 100 m and 200 m with remarkable ease.

Usain Bolt. No more appropriate name could there be for the fastest man on the planet, with the possible exception of Flashy McSpeed. The Lightning Bolt. The slickest, coolest, quickest cat on the block. From the preening and posing – done with a boyish glee and bravado suitable to someone who genuinely is the best and knows it – to the globally-recognised lightning-strike celebration, Usain Bolt has every star quality in spades. Not only that, but he is a winner, and everyone loves a winner. Everyone loves watching someone outdo themselves, exceed expectation time and again, win not just easily but in mind-blowing fashion.

In Dublin Airport, on 20th August 2009, I sat in a bar waiting for a flight to Edinburgh and watched, admired and applauded as the world record for 200m was smashed by the brightest star in the athletics galaxy. The Berlin crowd went wild, everyone in our bar moved a little closer to the screen to check and recheck that time. 19.19 seconds. “Sweet Jesus!” “Incredible” and the wonderfully understated and unnecessary “Fuck, that’s fast.”

Athletics has had a rough time of it of late. Doping scandals are not quite as rife as they were during the horror years of the 80s and early 90s, when the likes of Ben Johnson and his 1988 Olympic 100m co-finalists were almost all disgraced, Flo-Jo’s superhuman times and early retirement left more than a whiff of suspicion around her greatness, and the Iron Curtain nations spewed out wave after wave of specially-created, steroid-filled robots. Yet they are still there, and still claim the high-profile names.

One such name is Marion Jones, an athlete universally admired at her peak for her enduring spirit, undeniable talent and apparent “clean-ness”. My granny – a huge fan of Jones – and I were surely not alone when Marion was found to be a cheat and forced to hand over her Olympic medals from Sydney. We had watched those games and marvelled at this engaging and gifted young woman who had carried all before her in a 5-medal haul. She was a shining beacon for fair play, or so we all thought. Then, in 2005, she was brought into disrepute along with the likes of Kelli White and Tim Montgomery in the course of the BALCO investigation, finally confessing to taking performance-enhancing drugs prior to the Olympics in 2000. She forfeited all results dating back to September of that year.

BALCO played a massive role in the continuing sorry tale of athletics cheats. Nowadays, many people watch athletics with a certain cynicism. Any athlete who displays great muscle mass, a sudden burst of form or an unprecedented success are sneered at with suspicion. Certainly, the scenes in the Cube at Beijing 2008 left many feeling cold and hollow, as China swept to gold medals left, right and centre, especially in the women’s events, some achieved by swimmers heretofore ranked beyond the top-20 in their discipline and by phenomenal margins. Witness again the furore surrounding Caster Semenya at the World Championships only a few short months ago, and it seems no champion is safe from the finger of suspicion and the taint of rumour.

Except, possibly, Usain Bolt. When a champion is JUST THAT GOOD, he is even more heavily scrutinised than those who have come before. He cannot go anywhere without being heavily drug tested; there is too much riding on him. With athletics on the ropes, Bolt is the Messiah viewed by all who love the sport as its saving grace. Here is a charismatic character, a surprisingly articulate and down-to-Earth speaker, and a superhuman runner. He is as Sea The Stars is to flat racing – the pinnacle of athleticism thus far, the greatest that has yet to be seen. He strolls past high quality fields which, in any other era, would be breaking records of their own. He is, quite simply, the perfect sprinter, with a long, easy stride and more gears than a spare-part shop.

So Usain Bolt CANNOT be a cheat. It is too important for athletics that he is a freak of nature (in the nicest possible way!) and nothing more. People who don’t always watch athletics will often watch the Olympics. It is rare that the World Championships would garner even half that attention, yet there were millions glued to the races featuring Bolt, both in that airport bar and around the world. He is the hottest ticket in town, the biggest draw the sport knows and the most vital part of an uncertain future. People WANT him to win, because they want to be able to say “I saw Bolt”. And they want him to be clean, because they want to be able to say “I saw Bolt, and he was the best, beyond doubt”.

If Bolt is clean, he will be remembered as a god by all who saw him, just as golfers remember Nicklaus or Hogan and will remember Woods, just as footballers remember Pelé or Maradonna and will remember Kaka, just as rugby players remember Willie John or Campese and will remember O’Driscoll. If he is clean, athletics will grow again, with new trust invested in its biggest names and a new generation of competitors all inspired to compete in one of the world’s oldest sporting traditions with a spirit of fair play on which the Olympics were founded. If he is clean, he will have single-handedly saved a dying sport, and a great sport.

If Bolt is a cheat…well, maybe it’s time for the majority of competitors to give up the game, because there will never be any joy in competing against peers you can no longer trust in front of dwindling crowds who, quite frankly, no longer care.

Marion Jones

Bukan semata teladan kejujuran dan sportivitas yang ditunjukkan Jones sehingga ia tetap menjadi orang “besar” di tengah keterpurukannya. Dalam wawancara dengan Oprah, Jones mengaku, ketenaran dan kekayaan tidak memberinya kebahagiaan karena selalu dihantui rasa bersalah.

“Hal terberat dalam pengakuan saya adalah, mengetahui bahwa orang tahu, Jones adalah manusia biasa, dengan segala kekurangan dan kelemahannya,” ujar Jones.

Lepas dari penjara, Jones juga mengaku lebih menghargai hal-hal kecil dalam hidupnya, terutama melakukan apapun sesuai kehendaknya. “Di penjara, hidup kita diatur oleh pemerintah. Bangun tidur harus melakukan ini itu sesuai perintah. Semua orang diperlakukannya sama, tidak peduli siapa, termasuk Marion Jones,” ujar Jones. Bagi Jones, pengakuan dan hukuman kurung badan yang mengakhiri kariernya di lintasan atletik adalah puncak dari tuduhan-tuduhan penggunanaan doping yang diterimanya, bahkan ketika ia mulai merintis karier di bangku SMA. Saat mantan suaminya, CJ Hunter, terbukti menggunakan doping dan dilarang tampil di Sydney 2000, Jones mati-matian berkilah bahwa ia tetap atlet yang bersih dari doping. Malah, Jones pernah menyatakan, perceraiannya dengan CJ Hunter disebabkan ia tak ingin citranya sebagai atlet bersih dinodai oleh kasus doping mantan suaminya itu.

Pada sepanjang kariernya sejak masih berlari untuk Universitas North Carolina, Jones memang dekat dengan orang-orang dalam bisnis doping. Selain dengan CJ Hunter, Jones kemudian menikah dengan sprinter Tim Montgomery, yang juga terlibat skandal doping. Kini Jones tak lagi berlari dan jauh dari genmerlap kemewahan, tetapi hidup bahagia dengan Monty, Demir, dan suami ketiganya, Obadele Thompson. Sementara di seluruh dunia, doping masih menjadi musuh utama dunia olahraga dan memakan korban atlet-atlet top dari cabang-cabang populer, terutama atletik, renang, balap sepeda, dan bisbol. Konspirasi antara pemasok obat-obatan, pelatih, dokter dan atlet membuat dunia olahraga tak pernah sepi dari skandal doping.

Anton Sanjoyo

Unbelievable, amazing, astonishing. Just some of the adjectives used to describe Usain Bolt and the feats he has achieved in his short career.

But when you are as good an athlete as Bolt is, people will always wonder how and why this is possible.

Usain Bolt doing his famous pose (c) Brunel University 2009

At this years’ World Athletics Championships in Berlin he broke the world records in both the 200m and the 100m races, running the latter in a time of 9.58 seconds, knocking significant amounts of his previous personal bests.

As well as his undisputed prowess in the 100m and 200m there is talk of the world’s fastest man racing in the 400m event, and perhaps even switching to the Long Jump in the future.

Usain even showed recently that he is not bad at cricket either. Is there anything this man can’t do?

Athletics’ long standing drug problem

Athletics is a sport that in recent years has been continuously marred by accusations of drug taking. Unfortunately this means that we have become programmed to doubt whether any athlete is clean or not.

Since Bolt stormed on to the world athletics scene a few years ago there have been constant debates over whether it is possible that he could perform to such a high standard without having taken performance enhancing drugs.

This is not the fault of Bolt, he has done nothing to suggest that this is the case, but the fault of those who came before him. Those who we were equally amazed at, but whose positive tests betrayed out trust in them and in the sport.

Disgraced champions such as Marion Jones, Ben Johnson and Dwain Chambers have laid the seeds of doubt in the minds of athletics fans the world over.

So much so that we now have trouble believing anyone.

All too often we have been in awe of one performance or another only to find out later that all was not as it should have been.

All to ready to condemn

Previous allegations of cheating has effectively created an atmosphere of suspicion around all athletes, and is in danger of seriously damaging the sport

Caster Semenya winning gold at the World Championships (c) Jose Goulao 2009

I think this is why we were all so ready to believe the speculation that something dodgy was going on in the case of Caster Semenya, who won the 800m title in Berlin earlier this year.

I hate to admit it but when the whole situation was revealed to the public the use of steroids, and some kind of cover up by the South African authorities sprang to mind.

To my shame the possibility of a genuine medical problem, which I think has now been proven to have been the case, did not enter my thoughts.

Again Caster was not to blame for mine or anyone else’s doubts, rather other athletes and the countries in the past such as East Germany who were guilty of subjecting their athletes to a drug regime.

Doubting Bolt

For Bolt it seems there is no escaping the allegations he faces on a routine basis.

This is ironic as what Bolt has achieved is tremendous. And he could be accredited with having single handily making the sport of athletics popular again, after many fans deserted it due to the drug problems that have plagued the sport for so long.

The World Championships attracted much more media attention this year than normal, (and not just because of the controversy over Caster), as Usain graced the back pages of many a newspaper with one stunning performance after another.

Watching those races from Berlin still has the ability to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up; I am quite simply in awe of him.

However, I have been conditioned as an athletics fan to be sceptical and occasionally I cannot stop these thoughts entering my head.

However, I do not want to believe that Bolt is part of the group of sprinters who will have to have his medals retrospectively stripped from him, and I try very hard not to think that this might happen.

I really want  to be able to say with confidence that I think he that he is clean, and I am 99% sure that he is. But I do also not want to be proved wrong in the future like I have been so many times before.

It is hard for us, given the past, to believe that someone could be naturally blessed with such extraordinary talent.

I hope though that this is what we are seeing and I think we do need to start believing it, because Bolt is not going to stop astounding us with his performances.

Bolt’s celebrity status has afforded him an enormous amount of responsibility, not just for himself but for the sport in general.

If everything is as it should be then Usain Bolt is potentially one of the greatest athletes and sporting icons the world has ever seen. We should enjoy watching him make history while it lasts.

Oleh Anton Sanjoyo

Dari balik jeruji penjara, Marion Jones menulis sebaris kalimat ini ; “Anakku, ibu minta maaf karena untuk sementara tidak berada di samping kalian. Ibu berada di suatu tempat yang disebut penjara. Ibu harus berada di tempat ini untuk kesalahan yang ibu buat pada masa lalu. Ibu telah berbohong karena takut akan mengubah keadaan kita. Ibu minta maaf untuk hilangnya waktu tak ternilai bersama kalian. “

Saat membacakan kembali surat-suratnya yang diberi judul “Surat untuk Anak-anak” itu di hadapan Oprah Winfrey, air mata Jones kembali meleleh, persis seperti ketika ia menuliskannya di penjara Carswell, Texas.

Marion Jones adalah mantan atlet top AS. Namanya meroket setelah merebut lima medali, diantaranya emas Olimpiade Sydney 2000. Perempuan kelahiran Los Angeles, 12 Oktober 1975 itu menjadi ratu sejagad. Wajah jelita dan tubuh aduhainya menghiasi sampul majalah tenar, di antaranya Sports Illustrated, Time dan Vogue.

Tujuh tahun setelah sukses di Sydney, Jones mengaku menggunakan steroid sebelum Olimpiade Sydney. Ia lantas mengembalikan seluruh medalinya kepada Komite Olimpiade Internasional (IOC). Badan Anti Dopping AS (USADA) kemudian menjatuhkan sanksi dua tahun dan membatalkan semua catatan prestasi serta hadiah yang didapat Jones selepas 1 September 2000. Pada 5 Oktober 2007, Jones secara resmi dinyatakan bersalah telah berbohong kepada agen federal dalam serangkaian penyelidikan doping selepas Sydney 2000. Jones, yang dijatuhi hukuman penjara selama 6 bulan, pada hari itu juga menyatakan mundur dari dunia atletik. Jones mulai menjalani hukumannya di Carswell pada 7 Maret 2008 dan dibebaskan pada 5 September 2008.

Barangkali Jones adalah tipe atlet yang kerap disebut “from hero to zero”, tetapi bagaimanapun ia telah memberi teladan kepada semua orang tentang arti kejujuran dan sportivitas, dua kosakata yang mulai pudar maknanya di dunia olahraga yang sudah dikuasai industri dan gelimang uang.

Jones pada masa jayanya adalah atlet atletik paling kaya. Penampilannya di lintasan atletik bisa menghasilkan setidaknya 70.000 dollar AS per kejuaraan. Dari bonus dan sponsorship serta honor iklan, Jones bisa menghasilkan setidaknya satu juta dollar AS setahun. Jones hidup dalam gelimang kemewahan dan tinggal di sebuah mansion di Chapel Hill, North Carolina, bertetangga dengan Michael Jordan, bintang  bola basket NBA.

Namun, selepas Sydney 2000, hidup mewah Jones harus dibarengi penderitaan. Ia menjual harta-hartanya untuk menghadapi persidangan doping. Jones bahkan harus menjual seluruh propertinya untuk membayar pengacara. Jones lantas mengaku bersalah karena tidak ingin kehilangan hartanya yang paling berharga, keluarga, terutama dua anak lelakinya, Monly dan Demir.

“Kebohongan itu harus Ibu bayar dengan hal yang sangat mengerikan, kehilangan kalian berdua selama enam bulan. Waktu berharga yang tidak mungkin ibu gantikan sampai kapanpun,” tulis Jones dalam suratnya kepada Monty dan Demir.

It was known a couple months ago that Marion Jones, the American gold medalist from the Sydney Olympic Games, had admitted to cheating and steroid use.   Jones developed her muscular, fit, low-body fat physique through hard training, but used a little edge to get to the top of the world. Unfortunately, this little edge meant steroids, and therefore, cheating.

But there are lessons to be learned from Miss Jones. First, sprinting or interval training is a great way to lose body fat. Even without steroids, this type of intense training is far more effective than long, slow, boring cardio for fat loss.

In fact, there are 3 important fat burning factors that everyone will ignore now that we know Marion Jones used steroids. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Jones worked hard, ate right, and used advanced training methods such as interval training and strength training to build her body and burn her belly fat.

With interval training, you burn fat during the workout and also during the recovery period. Its no question that Marion Jones had a fast metabolism thanks to her speed training. So the next time you are thinking about a workout, forget about long, slow cardio, and use interval training instead.

Interval training is pretty simple. It just means doing periods of short, intense exercise followed by periods of light exercise. Of course, do a warm-up and cooldown before and after the workout, respectively. For a detailed interval program, see the Turbulence Training program.

Marion Jones also used strength training to build her low body fat percentage physique. However, there are not many details about her strength training program, because her steroid pushing coach did not want her to tell anyone about it. It would not be surprising to learn that Marion Jones used squats, lunges, and other multi-muscle lower body exercises to build her beautiful, and powerful legs, and also to help burn fat.

Research from the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that resistance training can double post-exercise fat burning. Marion Jones would have benefitted two-fold by her training regimen when it comes to fat loss.

First, interval training would burn more fat, and second, strength training increased fat burning and her metabolism. Both strength training and interval training are used in Turbulence Training to help men and women lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean.

And finally, there was third component to Marion’s fat loss success even before you can consider steroids. Along with interval training and strength training, Jones was serious about her nutrition. She probably had a schedule meal plan, eating several times per day. Jones probably had a good breakfast each morning. She probably had a scientifically formulated post-workout shake of protein and carbohydrates.

Has Marion Jones made a big mistake? Absolutely. In fact, she has made several – including lying and using steroids. And she will learn some
lessons.

But just as important, we can learn some valuable fat loss lessons from what Marion Jones did honorably. And that is train hard, with interval training and strength training, as well as eat right with whole, natural foods, a structured meal plan, discipline, a good breakfast, enough protein, and a post-workout shake of protein and carbohydrate.

Use the lessons of what Marion Jones did right to help you with your fat burning program. Don’t worry, you won’t bulk up because you are not using steroids – instead, you will just burn fat with resistance training and interval training.

Cannavaro is under investigation for a failed doping test.

Soccer

-As World Cup qualifying wraps up, six South American teams are seeking two and a half spots for the World Cup Finals next year in South Africa. These clubs include Uruguay who last qualified in 2002 and two-time champions Argentina, who is danger of missing the finals for the first time since 1970. The Argentines are currently fifth in the South American group where the top four teams qualify. The fifth team would be engaged in a playoff with the fourth-place  team from the CONCACAF group of North and Central Americas and the Caribbean. Ecuador is currently fourth  in the group behind Brazil, Paraguay and Chile and stands one point in front of Argentina.

-Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro with his club Juventus. The Italian Olympic Committee has opened an investigation into a cortisone shot that Cannavaro said he took for a bee sting. He was already suspended for Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland Saturday. Cannacaro is expected to rejoin the team with its match against Cyprus on Wednesday.

Swimming

Dara Torres is set to have reconstructive surgury on her left knee and is expected miss up to 18 months. The 42-year old won three silver medals in Beijing last summer and says she is still optimistic to qualify for London in 2012.

Track & Field

-Reigning Olympic and world champion hammer thrower Prizmov Kozmus, who became Slovenia’s first gold medalist by winning in Beijing last summer, has announced his intention to retire from competition.  Kozmus said his reasons are personal more than anything else and will make a decision by the start of the new season.

-A decision is expected to be rendered on the fates of Marion Jones’ relay teammates from the 2000 Summer Olympics in December. The cases for Jones’ teammates on the 4 x 100 (Chryste Gaines, Torri Edwards, Nanceen Perry and Passion Richardson) and 4 x 400 (Jearl-Miles Clark, Monique Hennagan, LaTasha Colander-Richardson and Andrea Anderson) relays is on appeal with the Court of Arbitration and Sport. Jones admitted to doping in 2007 and was sentenced to time in federal prision for lying to them about using performance enhancing drugs during the BALCO investigation. She was stripped of all five of her medals from Sydney which included golds in in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4 x400 relay and bronzes in the long jump and the 4 x 100 relay.

USOC

In what has no doubt been a tumultuous six months on the job, interim USOC CEO Stephanie Streeter decided to not seek the job on a full time basis. This came after the 40 members of the USOC gave her a vote of no-confidence. The vote comes as the USOC has considerable damage to their relationships to the IOC, NBC and internationally as an organization and capped by Chicago’s surprising elimination in the first round in last week’s IOC vote to award the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The USOC has not set a timetable to find its replacement and depending on how the search is, Streeter could be around well through the Winter Olympics next year in Vancouver.

-B. Cox

I recently watched a movie made here in South Africa based on one of their greatest sports players of all time, Hansie.  The movie was entitled Hansie and the story is of a South African cricket player, who in the mid to late 90’s brought the people of South Africa together with the game of Cricket.  The one problem that he possessed out of many was lying.  One subject, and it was something that he really didn’t do, just thought about it. The subject was betting and losing games.

I won’t tell the whole story, but I will give a brief overview.  And BBC did a story on him that you can see here.  Hansie grew up with a love for cricket and played really well in most of the matches through his childhood and up to his professional debut. From that point on He sky rocketed with his performance, charting in 2004 to be the 11th best player in all of South Africa and a National Hero.  The only set back from his professional career, the one I mentioned earlier: betting, match fixing and mostly lying; made him banned from ever playing profession cricket again and put a bad mark on his name to the country that he loved so much.  here are a few details from Wikipedia:

– Stand-in captain — There was another drawn series when South Africa toured England in 1994, Cronje scoring just one century on the whole tour and scored only 90 runs in the three-Test series. In October 1994, South Africa again came up against Australia, in a triangular one-day series also featuring Pakistan, Cronje scored 354 runs at an average of 88.50 but despite this South Africa lost all their matches.[8] This series was Bob Woolmer’s first as coach and Kepler Wessels’ last as captain. Cronje who’d previously been vice-captain was named as captain for the Test series with New Zealand in 1994/95.  — Match fixing — On 15 June Cronje released a statement that revealed all his contact with bookmakers. In 1996 during the third Test in Kanpur, he was introduced to Mukesh Gupta by Mohammad Azharuddin. Gupta gave Cronje $30,000 to persuade the South Africans to lose wickets on the last day to lose the match, South Africa were 127/5 chasing 460, Cronje was already out and spoke to no other players “I had received money for doing nothing”. During the return tour Cronje received $50,000 from Gupta for team information. –

If you read the story of Hansie; he did take money, but for nothing really; he talked with other players about throwing matches, but nothing ever came out of actually doing it; the only problem was he kept things secret and lied to different people at different times.  He did admit to the fact that he  had a love for money, and don’t we all have that.  We all struggle with this, maybe not to the extent or heightened level that Hansie did, but lying (making ourselves appear better than we really are) and the love of money is apart of our flesh.

The story of Marion Jones is somewhat similar… she is not a cricket player, but a high profile track and field athlete; now just a convicted felon.  She “not Knowingly” took performance-enhancing drugs in the year 2000, during the Sydney Olympic Games.  She lied about it then and kept lying until the truth came out in investigations.  In an interview, she said that during one of the investigation times, there was a point where they showed her the substance that is known as the “clear”, and she thought to her self that if she had just taken a few minutes to meet with her counsel and tell the investigator right then and there that the substance in front of her was what she took, it might have been easier on her in the long run.

Both Hansie and Marion Jones took the thought of keeping something to make themselves look better, instead of understanding the importance of telling the truth and also the detrimental effects that could linger and last for their whole lives with keeping the lie.  Hansie was a Christian, and even more so effected him because of that, as does it with us everyday.  We need to make God look good and not ourselves, since He was the one that created us in the first place.  Jones I don’t believe is a Christian, but she knew post term of imprisonment that it would have been better to tell the truth right away, even though it would hurt at first, then to have kept the lie and now is keeping that untold truth with her for the rest of her days here on earth.

Everyone lies, and if you say you don’t then that’s a pretty good observation that you do.  Because we are all liars, we are all sinners and condemned to an eternity in hell. I know, that sounds horrible.  But, the great thing is Jesus came down to earth to take all your lies, your stealing, your hatred and everything else that might be a sin in your life, and took it to the cross with Him.  Because of what He did, and our trusting in Him for the only way to salvation, can we be free from the bondage of looking to others for our self worth and instead place that upon Christ, for He is willing and would love to have it.  Hansie learned that even being a Christian, he still fell for temptation, but was able to learn through that experience of God’s redeeming love and forgiveness, and was able to share with others what Christ had done for his life even through the tough situation he was in.

If you want to watch the trailer(top two), or even a story on matching fixing you can go here.

Andy’s and Amy’s Spawn Pitted – Mickey Claims Baby

When this photo arrived at Brobot Report headquarters, the first editor to view it said: “What an ugly baby.”

“But wait,” said Fletcher’s Monkey, “that baby is getting a sick pit, and it looks like it’s about, what? A year old?”

While most babies begin to walk between 9 and 12 months, experts brought in to examine the photo confirmed the assistant’s original estimate. The female child pulling into the left breaking shore pound—at what looked to be Ehukai Beach Park—appeared to be between nine months and a year old. And although this is normal for walking development, the style this baby presented standing tall in the tube seemed incredible. Also unusual about the child, however, was her thick black hair. Almost all babies that age grow light hair, if any at all.

The disturbing, albeit, gripping photo consumed Brobot HQ.

Then Brobot’s photo editor commented that the baby’s tube-style looked amazingly like Andy Irons in the 2002 Teahupoo WCT event: regular foot, backside, standing tall, right arm extended straight up.

This analysis spun Brobot Report HQ into a flurry of activity. Working on what they knew to be the facts, staff formulated the thesis that when Andy Irons admitted himself into a drug rehabilitation facility in Oxnard, Calif., after the close of the ’07 season and was still attending by February ’08, he met and had “relations” on or near Amy Winehouse (who also participated in rehab about the same time). If this were true, the baby certainly would have reached the ten month mark.

Could Amy/Mickey be same person?

What other unholy union could create such a specimen?

The case was broken by Brobot’s North Shore reporter, who found witnesses that claimed to have seen rap sensation Mickey Avalon attempt to swoop a child from the Ehukai shore pound, wherein he was set upon by a woman who looked a lot like a bedraggled, baboon-like Amy Winehouse.

“No,” said another witness, “that really was Amy Winehouse, only without the make-up.” Both witnesses agree, however, that Mickey Avalon screamed, “But I’m her Auntie, I’m her Auntie!” several times before he was subdued.

A third witness refutes this, however, certain at first that there was only the one Amy Winehouse. “The mother was so high,” the witness said, “that she was swinging the baby around screaming, ‘I’m her Auntie.’”

“It was all black hair, dripping sweat, and lipstick everywhere,” the witness said, “A bloody horror show, but I’m certain that there was only one of them. Whether it was Amy Winehouse or Mickey Avalon, I don’t know. Maybe it was both, all of those big-city trannies look alike.”

Media analysts say the real story concerns surf media’s failure to report the massive news that Irons attended rehab in the winter of ’07/08. Critics are especially hard on Surfer magazine publisher Rick Irons whose family connection almost assures his prior knowledge of Andy Irons’ attempt at rehabilitation. An insider who asked not to be named said, “Shame on Billabong, and shame on Rick Irons for concealing this information. Groms everywhere could have benefited from the knowledge that their surf heroes are using performance suppressing drugs. Is there any better reason to avoid them?”

“No can!” cried Ricky Boy in defense, “Uncle Paul and Billabong-kine say talk story ‘bout Andy is kapu. What?! If Surfer talk story on Andy, you tink Billabong gonna pay ‘em big Surfer magazine money? No way, brah. Den what Ricky Boy do? Pick’em pineapple? No way, we gonna bury dat story like suckling pig.”

Responding to Ricky Boy’s comments, Brobot’s North Shore reporter sited Kahuku High School’s official slogan: “If can, can! . . . If no can, chance!”—which translates roughly to, “If you think you can’t do the right thing, you might want to try it anyway. Who knows? You might succeed.”

For his part—like Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Neco Padaratz for that matter—sources say that Andy Irons remains firm in the opinion that bodies such as the ASP, media and his new baby-mama should consider his drug use a private matter.

These girls can out-run you, out-swim you; shut you down in a game of full-court b-ball, ski faster and jump higher than you ever will. They have physical prowess in their respective sport, and unlike 99% of the other girls in their league are incredibly nice to look at!

 Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Sexiest Female Athletes of 2009

 World’s Sexiest Female Athletes 

10. Lokelani McMichael

9. Gabrielle Reece

8. Nikki McCray

7. Fabiola da Silva

6. Tamara Jenkins

5. Tatiana Gregorieva

4. Amy Acuff

3. Jeannette Lee

2. Marion Jones

1. Anna Kournikova

USAIN BOLT picked up his second gold medal at the World Athletics Championship yesterday with a dominant performance in the 200m.

This was also Bolt’s second world record of the event, his 19.19sec following a 9.56sec in the 100m.

In any other sport Bolt’s dominance would be boring.

But instead he has saved athletics.

Before the emergence of Bolt the sport was at its lowest ebb.

A succession of champion sprinters – Justin Gatlin, Tim Montgomery, Marion Jones – were facing lengthy drug bans, after being kicked out of the sport in disgrace.

From the ruins one man emerged to save the sport, becoming a global sporting icon in the process, so expect to see him advertising shaving products with Tiger Woods and Roger Federer very soon.

Tyson Gay is a very good sprinter, the fastest American of all time and his 9.71sec would have won every 100m race in history, except for the Olympic final and Sunday’s race.

But he was made to look very ordinary by Bolt in the 100m final.

That however was nothing compared to the destruction of his 200m rivals.

Bolt has not only transformed the times, he has also changed the way sprinters approach their races.

Gone is the posturing of three-times 100m world champion Maurice Greene, attempting to win the pre-race mind games.

Bolt does not need to psyche his opponents out, because he knows he is better than them.

Before the 100m final he was shadow-boxing with one of his main rivals for the gold medal, Jamaican teammate Usafa Powell.

Bolt will probably win another gold medal in Sunday’s 4×100m relay, but may not claim another world record, as he is hampered by having to run with three other people in his team.

Men’s sprinting has become Bolt versus the clock.

And it is much the better for it.

photo credit: AP

Islandistas and islandistos are again doing it like only we  do (*coff – bussing up records drug-free*) in the World Championships in Berlin!

Of course, everyone in the world saw or watched the Youtube clips of Usain Bolt MASHING UP his own men’s 100m world record last night in a sizzling time of 9.58 – the first man to delve into 9.5 territory – a place many thought they would never see.

And then today, Shelly-Ann Fraser did the double as well, adding the women’s 100m World Championship title to her Olympic gold medal in the event.

She led a Jamaica 1-2 of the event, with Kerron Stewart (a lot of people’s favourite) coming second.

Just like the men’s final which was a Caribbean pepperpot with two Jamaicans, two Trinis and an Antiguan in de mix (yes, that is five out of eight finalists), the women’s final had a strong Caribbean flavour.

There were four Jamaicans – Fraser and Stewart were joined by fellow yaadies Veronica Campbell-Brown and Aleen Bailey and the two Bahamian veterans – Chandra Sturrup and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

De world finally seeing that it is really de Caribbean that run t’ings pun de track! What Americans, what?!

Even more significant is that Shelly-Ann’s time was 10.73 which is not only the fastest time this year, but the joint third-fastest time ever for a woman.

Let me repeat that for you again, in case you don’t get the significance. She ran the joint third-fastest time ever
(Christine Arron also ran 10.73. Of course, Arron is also an islandista, born in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe)

The only two women to run faster than her are Marion Jones (10.70) and Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49).

And well… de two a dem… EH! is all I have to say.

As far as I am concerned, Shelly wid har cute likkle self is the world record holder.

Yeh, Islandista say dat. Who ent like mih could bite mih, in the words of Queen Fay-Ann. Is real bad-gal talk I putting down here.

Shelly is my world record holder.

Because, see it…

Even Marion Jones with all the illegal juice she eventually confessed to taking, could not match the insane times that Flo-Jo ran. And we all know the suspicions around Flo-Jo. But dead women tell no tales, oui?

So congratulations to Shelly-Ann Fraser – the world’s fastest woman!

ArtDog Exhibition of Work Marion Jones and Biman Mullick at BABUR 119 Brockley Rise London, SE23 1JP 020 8291 2400 The exhibition runs until Sept 09.Marion is interested in the layering and texture of surfaces; panels which appear raised or embossed on a surface, or by contrast, “trapdoors” to lower layers. The surface however remains smooth and flat. She paints on unprimed canvas and on Khardi paper and the contrast between washed – out and vivid colour is a constant preoccupation. Her current work relates also to more organic forms and seeks to combine her interests in form and structure with literary sources, notably in the works “The Trees of all Ireland”, inspired by a passage in Joyce’s Ulysses”

Bang My Stepmom Free Preview

Excerpt from nikki mckibbin top 10, season the 2002 american idols live! tour was coming to an end. We do know that kierra will have it as soon as school is out. And copy stepmother stepmom nude lieselotte. To celebrate the official launch of our book on tuesday, may the 5th, we’re offering a tantalizing mix of original artwork by carol marine, signed books stepparenting, divorce, stress relief, ours, telephone coaching sessions with two of a. Not only will this be a re make of julia roberts &. Dans la blogosph re des stepmom comme dans les journaux potins, on parle beaucoup ces temps ci d une mar tre vedette.

Although this relationship may be very different than the one with our biological mother, it is oftentimes an important one as well. But ironically, we get married more, which means more than once, which often means divorce. He choked me and threw me down so i left and went and hid at the econo lodge. My stepmom whose bf have abused me is no living w me and my siblings showed up on friday at about 3pm, and don t leave until around 3 on sunday. Our source revealed, kajol and kareena have been finalized f.

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Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, and most recently, the immortal Brett Favre. All of them became victims of the Madden Curse.  For those of you who don’t know, Madden is not only a Hall of Fame/Superbowl XI winning coach and drumstick loving broadcaster, but his name adorns the NFL’s main video game franchise. Since 2001 whichever athlete was chosen to be the cover-model has had a terrible season following the release of the game.  These once unstoppable athletes succumb to injury, slumps, bad losses, and even the inability to love dogs.
So who is the newest to be brought to Madden’s career slaughterhouse? None other then Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals and TroyPolamalu of the Steelers, arguably the two most dominant players at their respective positions.  Because I’ve become a gambling addict, lets go over the possibilities of what will happen to the newest players to fall prey to Madden’s cover curse.

ALIEN ABDUCTION 1,000,000-1

Wouldn’t you love to see aliens try to abduct two 200+ pound football players renowned for being tough guys. Why do movie aliens always attack boring people? Who gives a shit if Mel Gibson’s farm is attacked by crop circle making pussy aliens in Signs? Lets see those aliens try that crap on Mike Tyson. Of course the one notable exception would be Jim Brown in Mars Attacks. Now THAT was a movie.

FRITZ PETERSON / MIKE KEKICH LIFE SWAPPING SCANDAL 500,000-1

If you don’t know the story, two Yankees pitchers, Peterson and Kekich, swapped lives completely. They traded wives, children, houses, and even dogs (according to todays smartest orgonzation… Wikipedia). Now THAT would be a scandal. This wouldn’t really do anything to the careers or statistics of Fitz and Polamalu, but would be the most talked about thing of all time.  Imagine the water cooler talk. “Fuck OJ’s car chase, did you hear about Fitzgerald and Polamalu switching lives?”

NOTHING 1000-1

Don’t kid yourself, something is going to happen. THERE ARE TWO OF THEM FOR FUCK’S SAKE, TWO TIMES THE OPPORTNITIES!!! SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!! *breath*

RETIREMENT 900-1

I don’t think this will happen, but it’s not unprecedented for an athlete to retire in their prime. See Barry Sanders for example. However he was a runningback, and runningbacks on average have a career shorter then most ipods.

ONE OF THEM WILL FAIL A DRUG TEST 100-1 (after all it’s the NFL, they’re all on SOMETHING, right?)

As a Toronto sports fan i would love to see this happen. Why you ask? Because if either of them pulls a Micheal Phelps… or a Daryl Strawberry…or a Marion Jones….or (insert the athlete your thinking of here) they will inevitably want to resurrect their career in the CFL. RICKY STYLE!!! Then maybe my Argos will have a better year then the last one.

SIDE NOTE: If anyone is actually reading this (and why the hell wouldn’t you), there is a cool story about when Walker and I worked for the Argos but i’ll save that for another time

INJURY 5-1

This is probably your best bet. Both Fitzgerald and Polamalu play the way the game is meant to be played; tough as shit, hard nose football. Polamalu even called the NFL a sissy league because of all the QB protection rules. An injury would be devastating to their teams, but don’t worry football fans; if either one of these two sustain an injury it will probably be hair related.

Although there is always the possibility that both of them will have good seasons, both will be Pro bowl players, and both will once again lead their teams to playoff positions. But even so the curse will live on. How is this possible you ask? Well you see, Madden (the drumbstick loving broadcaster this time, not the game) is no longer around to call the games.  So in the end, are we not all victims of the ultimate tragedy of the Madden curse?

By Scott

You know, from the ages of approximately 7 to 18 (and I am being conservative here to make everyone seem smarter) we are brought to idolize certain people.  These people become our heros.  They do something better than somebody else.  Or if not better, pretty decent at what they do.  Since little league is usually the first sport played by younger kids, it seems that we idolize baseball players first.  And why the hell not?  They are good, wholesome, role models for America’s youth.  Right?

My favorite baseball player

Athletes present a kind of class which parents hope their kids will mimic.

Girls get role models too

And what parent wouldn’t want an athlete in the family?

Besides an athlete in the family guarantees an early retirement.

But it was only B12

So it really hurts my feelings when the media makes up all these stories about athletes taking performance enhancing drugs.  Athletes don’t need them.  I mean c’mon…  I’m Roger fuckin’ Clemens.  You have to believe me because I’m awesome, and a hero.

I mean where’s the proof?  Doesn’t everyone’s growth spurt happen after 35?

Don't worry, my record only held for 4 years

Okay, I can only hold the bullshit for so long.  I don’t really care about baseball, and apparently, I’m not alone.  The polled a bunch of kids about whether they thought that steroids had ruined baseball.  I don’t remember the exact numbers, but the majority said that it hadn’t, which means that they don’t care about it either.  Now let me back up a minute.  I love going to baseball games, but its painful since I root for the Royals.  I also love playing baseball whenever I got eight of my friends around, but seriously, try getting eight of your buddies around for anything other than a wedding or a funeral, its difficult.

Didn't think I leave you out, you arrogant prick, did ya?

But baseball is barely a team sport.  Since you only play it as a team 50% of the time.  So this is why baseball is in trouble.

Bigger head, bigger target

All of the guys listed above (and yes, Marion Jones is totally a guy on this) are either holding or did at one time, hold a major record in the sport.  Mostly homeruns, but Clemens is way up there in pitching too.  Bad for baseball, but GREAT for business.

You see, these guys ARE heros, at least to anyone who wants to be successful.  They understood that to make the most money in baseball, you got to be the best at whatever you do.  Salaries and Sponsorships only come to the top tier of athlete, since baseball and other sports in general, don’t recognize the “pretty good” athletes.  And although they might have to lie to the public, cheat on the game, and steal somebody else’s records to do it.  You will be well compensated, my friend.  So yeah, they did it all for the fame and the money, except for A-Rod, he was playing for the Texas Rangers at the time, and this was the guy running it the time.  So I believe every word he says.

If you're going to make funny faces, turn the baby around, stupid!

Finis